Vehicles, such as automobiles, can include various airbag units that are deployed when an impact of the vehicle is sensed. When deployed, the airbag unit may slow movement of an occupant of the vehicle and may absorb energy from the occupant during the impact. One type of airbag unit, for example, is a side air curtain. The side air curtain may include an inflator and an airbag. The side air curtain may be mounted to a roof and/or body side of the vehicle behind the trim and the headliner. When an impact is sensed by an impact sensing system of the vehicle, the airbag may be deployed from the headliner between the occupant and a side of the vehicle, e.g., a window, door, pillar, trim, etc., in a manner that may absorb energy from the occupant.
The design of vehicle components are subject to several constraints such as packaging, assembly, and operability considerations. For example, a roof of the vehicle may include roof reinforcements, which may consume space between the roof and the headliner and create packaging constraints for the side air curtain. In addition, the design of the vehicle, e.g., the design of the roof, headliner, etc., may affect the direction of deployment of the airbag. Therefore, there remains an opportunity to design a side air curtain that accommodates these design considerations.